Business tycoon Richard Branson said yesterday he’s launching the world’s first passenger service to space in 2007.

It will offer zero-gravity flights, lasting two to three hours, for a mere $198,600.

And if you don’t feel high enough, the flight crews plan to offer booze.

The ambitious service, to be called Virgin Galactic, is the brainchild of Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic airlines, and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who’ll initially build five fish-shaped rockets to launch the service.

“I’m over the moon,” Branson crowed at a London press conference.

“Within five years, Virgin Galactic will have created over 3,000 new astronauts from many countries.”

Passengers will be able to zoom 80 miles into the stratosphere – about six times higher than commercial jets fly, he said.

They’ll also be able to experience weightlessness for four minutes and enjoy views of the horizon from 1,200 miles away.

The rocket ships will carry five passengers, each of whom will receive three days of flight training.

And while $198,600 is too expensive for most people, Branson said he will use the profits to eventually cut prices and make space shots affordable for regular tourists.

The first flights will blast off from the Mojave Desert in California.

“If it is a success, we want to move into orbital flights and then, possibly, even get a hotel up there,” Branson said.